


I'd Forgotten

by Em_Jaye



Series: Good Madness [11]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe - Bakery, Birthday Fluff, Darcy Lewis is Tony Stark's Daughter, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-03
Updated: 2018-10-03
Packaged: 2019-07-24 19:49:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,906
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16181966
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Em_Jaye/pseuds/Em_Jaye
Summary: "May your coming year be filled with magic and dreams and good madness"-Neil GaimanSeptember 19th





	I'd Forgotten

The package was waiting when they arrived home from dinner. A small, inconspicuous square package left between the screen and front door of the house, wrapped in brown paper and addressed to Darcy, post-marked Los Angeles but no return address.

“One last present?” Steve guessed as he handed it to her before herding Charlotte inside.

“Can I stay up while you open it?” Charlotte asked, blinking back any sign that she was getting tired.

Before Darcy could respond, Steve pointed to the stairs. “You have school in the morning,” he reminded his daughter. “And a math test,” he added, making her groan. “Please go brush your teeth and get ready for bed.”  

Charlotte let out a dramatic sigh and tipped her head back. “But it’s so early,” she whined. 

Steve looked at his watch. “Early enough for you to go over your flashcards one more time.”

Darcy snorted as she slipped out of her shoes and hung her scarf on the hook. “Brush your teeth and come back down to say goodnight,” she offered as a compromise. “I’ll wait to open it until you do, okay?” 

The nine-year-old brightened and raced upstairs without another word. Darcy took Steve’s hand in hers and led him over to sit with her on the couch. She placed the package on the coffee table and pulled her feet up under her, leaning into Steve when he dropped an arm around her shoulders. “Good birthday?” he asked, shifting so she could cuddle in close against him. 

She nodded as a wave of drowsy contentment settled over her. “Great birthday,” she corrected. 

No work—because her entire staff refused to let her consider coming in on her birthday, _Raina rule_ , they’d reminded her emphatically—a morning spent in bed with Steve after he’d returned from walking Charlotte to school, his hand tangled with hers while she browsed a handful of vintage stores and used bookstores in the village before they met Selma, Reese, Jane, and Thor for lunch at one of her favorite cafes. As if that wasn’t enough, she ended the day with a picnic in the park with all of her friends and more treats and presents than any thirty-three-year-old woman had a right to. 

As far as birthdays go, this was one Darcy was counting among her favorites. Steve turned and kissed the top of her head. “Very glad to hear it,” he said softly as Charlotte thundered down the stairs again. “Teeth brushed?” he asked when she slid into the living room in her bare feet and the oversized tie-dyed t-shirt she’d taken to wearing as a nightgown.

Charlotte nodded. “Teeth _and_ hair brushed,” she said, tossing her hair over her shoulder so

Steve could check the soft blonde waves for knots.

“Thank you,” Steve said as she clambered onto the couch with them.

“Open your last present, Darcy,” Charlotte reminded and reached forward to pick up the box and deposit it in Darcy’s lap.

Darcy smiled and slid a nail under the taped seam of the brown paper and removed a small, wooden box with a plain white envelope attached to the lid. She opened the envelope and slid the card free.

“ _Darcy, Before you worry, the contents of this gift only cost me about three dollars and a few hours of my time,_ ” she read aloud as her brow furrowed in confusion. _“I wish I could have been in New York to wish you a happy birthday in person and hopefully we have some happy/not totally awkward birthdays and holidays ahead of us_ ,” she paused and smiled, her eyes darted to the signature at the bottom of the card. “ _But until then, I found a happy memory I wanted to share with you. Happy birthday, Tony.”_

Darcy set the card down, more confused than before. She lifted the lid from the box, surprised to find a usb stick in a nest of tissue paper. Beside her, Charlotte wrinkled her nose. “What kind of present is _that?_ ” she asked, disappointed.

“I’m not sure,” Darcy answered honestly and lifted the stick to study it closer, surprised to find another, smaller note beneath that read _Read me after!_ She spied her laptop on the dining room table and got up to sit in front of it while she stuck the drive in the only functioning port. On the couch, Steve and Charlotte were looking skeptically at each other before she waved them over.

On the screen, her media player opened without prompting. “Come watch this with me,” she insisted and made room to let Charlotte hop up onto her lap.

Darcy wasn’t sure what she was expecting, but it wasn’t shaky home video of a familiar sidewalk. She looked at the date stamp in the corner: _January 4, 1985_. “Okay, first test of the newest member of the Tony Stark toy box,” she heard Tony’s voice over the crunching of boots on snow. “We’re gonna go pay a visit to the prettiest girl in New York and hope she doesn’t mind being on—shit!” Charlotte giggled as the camera went wild for a second before righting itself. “Salt your sidewalk, asshole!” Tony called as the street gave way to a row of faded green awnings that had all been taken down by the time Darcy was in fifth grade.

Sight of the old sign took her breath away. Darcy couldn’t remember it ever looking so fresh and new with bright red letters against stark white paint. “Now, she said she’d leave the door unlocked for me,” Tony’s hand came into the shot, his wrist sporting a heavy, complicated digital watch that beeped as he pushed on the door handle and stepped into the bakery.

“We’re closed,” Raina’s voice shot through Darcy’s chest like a bullet. She swallowed hard as Tony panned the shop, reminding her of all the things she’d let herself forget about how it used to look. The curtains on the windows, the bread rack that she’d pulled down on herself when she was four and split her lip open. The old yellow and gray checkerboard floor. When the camera panned back to the prep area, Darcy felt an audible gasp leave her lips.

She had no memory of her mother this young. Her dark hair was cropped in a short pixie cut she’d never repeated. It showed off the graceful length of her neck and the prominent collarbones Darcy had always wished she’d inherited. Dark eyes, full lips and a smile bright enough to see a mile away.

“Is that your mom?” Charlotte’s question brought her out of her reverie and forced her attention back to the present. She nodded, unable to take her eyes from the screen. “She was really beautiful,” Charlotte said softly, leaning back into Darcy’s chest.

On the screen, Raina was laughing, her nose wrinkled in confusion. “What the hell is that?” she asked as Tony drew closer.

“It’s my new toy. Video recorder. I can make my own movies now.”

Raina laughed, a sound Darcy had forgotten that brought a sting to her eyes. “Yeah, that’s just what you need, buddy.”

“C’mere, give us a kiss,” Darcy heard the teasing lilt in Tony’s voice as Raina turned around, rolling her eyes.

She leaned in and her hair brushed past the lens. And then she giggled. “I’m not kissing your camera,” she insisted and pulled away.

Tony’s hand had caught hers, making her laugh again. “Come on, the camera loves you, baby,” he joked following her as she walked him back into the kitchen. Darcy had to laugh as he dropped the gaze of the camera and zoomed in on Raina’s backside in her high-waisted jeans. “This is a great angle for you,” he said, trying to sound serious. “Really shows off your sense of humor.”

Raina’s head dropped back in a loud cackle and Tony righted the camera as soon as she turned around. Her eyes shifted to the lens and she sighed. “Hello camera,” she said and pushed her hair out of her eyes. “I assume that you’re going to be used for nefarious purposes in the future, so maybe you can issue a warning to all the women of the Washington DC area who are about to be wooed by the man currently operating you—”

The shot jostled and the camera landed on the nearest shelf, a crooked shot aimed where Raina was standing so they could watch Tony race to her and cover her mouth with his. She laughed against his lips and Darcy felt something twist in her chest the longer she watched them.

“Don’t listen to her, women of DC,” Tony said around another laugh as Raina grabbed at his sides and tickled him. He giggled like a little girl and squirmed against her. “She’s just trying to pretend she won’t miss me.”

“Ha!” Raina crowed, and Darcy grinned as her eyes welled against her will. “Miss you? I’m finally going to be able to get some work done around here without you following me around like a little lost puppy.”

“Lies,” Tony declared and turned to kiss her again. “All lies.”

The scene faded to black and the video stopped shortly after. Darcy reached for her phone as Charlotte slid off her lap without prompting. She got to her feet and scrolled for Tony’s number while she wandered into the kitchen.

“Hey birthday girl,” he greeted cheerfully. “Did you get my gift?”

She sniffled unintentionally and forced herself to swallow. “Yeah,” she said, cursing her voice for wobbling. “I was just calling to say thank you.”

There was a pause from California. “Are these...happy tears or sad tears I’m hearing?” he asked finally, sounding so much like a dad that Darcy felt her heart twist again.

She laughed and pushed at her eyes. “Happy tears, I think,” she decided. “I just...” she sniffed again. “I didn’t realize how much I’d forgotten.”

Tony was quiet again. “Well, I’m glad I could help you remember,” he said before he paused again and cleared his throat. “So, good birthday?”

She smiled and nodded, though he couldn’t see. “It was perfect,” she decided aloud. “Really, really perfect.”

 

They hung up not long after and Darcy returned to the living room where Steve was quizzing Charlotte with her flashcards. He looked up when she sat down on the opposite end of the couch and gave her a smile. “Everything okay?”

She nodded as Charlotte reached for the wooden box again and passed it to her. “Don’t forget the last part,” she reminded before returning to her quiz.

Darcy removed the smaller card from the box and opened it carefully. _If I did the math right, I think this is the only footage that exists of the three of us together,_ she read as another lump rose in her throat. _It’s not the greatest photo, but I thought you should have it. Happy birthday._

_-Tony._

She moved the rest of the tissue paper and found a small, framed photo, clearly grabbed from the video she’d just seen. Raina was leaning into him, a laugh fresh on her lips while he smiled toward the camera, mid-sentence. It was a little blurry, a little grainy from the vintage equipment on which it was captured, but it brought a smile to Darcy’s face nonetheless.

It wasn’t the greatest photo, she agreed as she set it on the coffee table.

It was perfect.

 

**Author's Note:**

> It's surprisingly difficult to write compelling fiction about watching a video! Who knew?
> 
> Let me know what you think and please come be a Darcyland friendship on Tumblr @idontgettechnology. 
> 
> *blows kisses*


End file.
